Shawn Sweeney
As a twenty-something in today’s world, it is really easy to find a number of academic areas in which to pursue a graduate degree. The hard part is settling on any one of them. Having been acutely described by one undergrad professor as a Sparrow -- not for being gifted with my voice -- but because of my figurative attraction to shiny objects, for the last several years I’ve really struggled with discerning where my interests would lead me when it came to pursuing a graduate degree.
As the son of a biology teacher and a nurse, I’ve always had an attraction to the natural world and the way that it works. When I was 10 I was introduced for the first time to the devastating effects that we as human beings can have on this world at a lecture about the massacre of Mountain Gorillas in the Virunga Mountains of Eastern Africa. From then on I was fascinated by and passionate for the conservation of wildlife. This led me to my undergraduate studies at the College of Wooster, where I spent time studying animal behavior with Black Capped Capuchin monkeys, rodents, and later in zoos with many other animals. Though watching these animals and all their great behaviors was fun for me, at the end of the day, I didn’t feel what I was contributing was accomplishing what I wanted it to. I needed to do more. I also spent time conducting research in zoos, such as Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, the Bronx Zoo and Zoo Atlanta, looking at how visitors perceive animals, and engaging in wildlife conservation. With this research, too, though I treasure the experience and all the people I worked with, the fit wasn't exactly right. Though those experiences certainly helped lead me where I've come today.
After meeting Dr. Jane Goodall and participating in her Roots & Shoots program for nearly five years I began to learn how I could still do things that benefited the animals that I so love, but satisfied this urge I had to do more. I found that instead of working with animals, I was working for animals. Through Roots & Shoots we did service projects that we designed for our community, for animals and for the environment. These projects were so important and life-changing for me. I learned that I can have an impact on issues, and that everything I do really matters. It was at this point that I began my path toward living a life that was more consistent with my values, and spending my days doing things that really mattered to me. I’ve stayed involved with Roots & Shoots since then, and am now proud that I can be a full-time member of the USA staff.
It is through my involvement with Roots & Shoots that I was introduced to Humane Education and the Institute for Humane Education. A very good friend and colleague, Jeannie Dewan, gave a presentation on Humane Education and the programs that IHE offers at our 2007 University Summit. After that presentation, I really pondered, “I can get a degree in this?” I wasn’t sure at first whether this was going to be the right fit for me, but I kept it in the back of my head as a possibility. Later Jeannie invited me to attend an IHE Sowing Seeds teacher training workshop at Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York. This experience sold me. I saw how I could use all of the knowledge that I had about animals to inspire others to be just as passionate about saving them as I was. I could learn how to have meaningful conversations that really challenged people to think, and hopefully help open their minds to the idea that they, too, can have an impact, and play a role in alleviating our world of the many challenges it faces.
I entered the Master of Education in Humane Education program in 2008. When I entered this program I thought that I was bringing an already immense knowledge on the issues we would cover. Today, I am very humbled by this thought, because what I thought I knew was miniscule to all that I have come to learn. I am excited to progress through this program, and continue building on my knowledge base for becoming an effective and inspiring Humane Educator. I have found a program suits my personality, my learning style, and my values. There’s something there I think.
Update as of 8/11:
Since I last wrote a profile for the Institute, I had only just begun the journey of my Master’s program in humane education. With the end of this month, I am very glad to say that I am now a graduate of that program. Saying that I am “hitting the ground running,” is an understated description of my post-graduate activities. I am more excited and enthused than ever to get started right away with the skills and tools that I have learned through the Institute.Over the course of my program, I have grown so much, and that growth has really supported my success in helping to manage Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots, the Jane Goodall Institute’s environmental and humanitarian youth program, for which I have worked since August 2007. As a National Program Coordinator for Roots & Shoots I am responsible for a broad array of programming, but focus most of my efforts on communications, marketing and training. Specifically, I am responsible for the Roots & Shoots website and the monthly newsletter, Branch Out. I also have the privilege of planning our annual National Youth Leadership Retreat, as well as our North America Training Summit.
When I tell people how excited I am about my graduation, they almost always ask me, so “what’s next?” I guess with finishing a graduate degree most people plan big changes in their life, and that I am, but those changes don’t involve leaving Roots & Shoots anytime soon. I am however working very hard on a few independent humane education projects that I have started since my graduation.
The first is a new blog that I launched with some friends called Compassionate U. The main goal of this blog is hosting a dialogue for my generation that’s all about what it takes to be compassionate in this day and age. As my generation begins their careers and starts to advance, we are beginning to take on more and more leadership, and have more and more agency in our respective companies. Today, more than ever, we have more information available to us about where things come from, and how decisions we make will impact ourselves, as well as people, animals and the environment around the world. That makes decision making a lot more complicated, and worthy of discussion.
Compassionate U holds a place for that discussion with the hopes of creating a new definition of what it means to be compassionate in this day and age, and how to make decisions according to our values.
The next project is a humane education seminar and series of teacher trainings that I am hosting this fall. My interest here is to build a community of people who understand the power and promise of humane education, and will work with me to grow its use in our area. The seminar will be a 90-minute program where I give an introduction to humane education and all the great ways that people can become involved. This seminar will be followed by a series of six teacher trainings that I am offering for local teachers so that they can learn how to bring humane education into their classrooms. Offered for teachers at all levels, another important part of this program will be one-on-one coaching to help teachers tailor their activities to their teaching level and subject.
The final big project for this fall is a very exciting fundraiser for the Institute being hosted by Jivamukti Cafe in New York City on October 30 @ 7 p.m. This fundraiser will be the NYC version of the Crystal Ball 15th anniversary celebration which was held over July 4th weekend at IHE's campus in Maine. The Crystal Ball NYC will feature Zoe Weil as a speaker, as well as other alumni and friends of the Institute. I’m looking forward to this event for two reasons: to give people who have benefited from the Institute an opportunity to show their appreciation, and to raise some awareness in NYC about the Institute, its programs, and humane education in general. It’s going to be a great event, and I hope anyone reading this in NYC will join us!
As I said earlier, hitting the ground running is an understatement, but I am so glad to have all of the amazing training and experience that I do from the Institute. That is what gives me the confidence to pursue these projects and the enthusiasm to bring humane education to my community.
Watch and share IHE President, Zoe Weil's TEDx talk -- an inspiring vision of how to create a just, compassionate, healthy world for all through solutionary education.
April 28, 2012 - 8:30 am to April 28, 2012 - 5:00 pm | Location: Nightingale-Bamford School
How can we best prepare our students for the important roles they must play in meeting the challenges of today's world? How can we help youth to become creative and critical thinkers who embody the qualities of wisdom, compassion, and integrity and who focus their grea...
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